THE COAST OF SOUTHEAST FRANCE
I have found a peculiar dichotomy in Southeastern France, in experiencing its unmatched beauty, with ongoing consternation with the wines from there.
A TGV train ride between Montpellier and Nice will offer breathtaking views of curved Mediterranean coastline, abutted by rolling hills of scrub and vines, with majestic towns dotted throughout. Grasse has some of the best perfume production, Cannes has the film festival, and of course Bandol has wine. Outside of the latter example, few appellations are celebrated in equal measure by American sommeliers, with Provençal neighbors Cassis and Palette coming closest.
What of the Languedoc and Roussillon? Fortified sweets and bulk juice aside, surely there are detailed and delicious examples of ageworthy dry wines to be found. Such a query invites exploration, hence the theme for Buddies this week.
In total, the Roussillon, Languedoc, and Provence have 29 appellations (9, 21, and 9 respectively). Of those, I have assembled a list of obvious and hypothetical gems, seen below. These are among the most popular, collected, or advertised wines from the three featured regions.
Using CellarTracker, Wine-Searcher, Delectable, importer tech sheets, and producer websites as my guide, assemblage has been indicated for each. This is my best guess of excellence for the region, and I hope you will join me in exploring some of them.
For my contribution to the tasting, we will be tasting 2011 and 2014 Trévallon Rouge side-by-side, two legends frequently observed on the trophy shelves of wineries across France, but rarely seen in the States. Let’s give them a try!
Cheers,
Nick Davis
May 13, 2019, Seattle
